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Privilege Lists

Peggy McIntosh, one of my social justice role models and an all-around great thinker, pioneered the idea of a privilege list in my world, and many others. In her short essay, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, she shared the idea that people who are White are always carrying with them an “invisible knapsack” that is filled with resources, guides, maps, blank checks, and other helpful tools that make life easier for them. And further, the idea that members of different races are born with different knapsacks, or sets of tools, they have at their disposal.

Expanding on her idea, below you will find lists I’ve written with the help of the community here, that share the contents of several other identity groups’ invisible knapsacks. The goal in creating these lists is not to shame members of privileged groups, but rather to make cognizant in their minds the unearned benefits granted to them in a hope to increase their ability to empathize with individuals who were not so fortunate, and to advocate for a more equitable future together.

If you identify as a man, these are a bunch of unearned benefits you get that folks with other genders do not. Read them and consider them. It’s not about shame. It’s about understanding.

If you are middle-to-upper class, these are a bunch of unearned societal benefits you get that folks in lower economic classes do not. Read them and consider them. It’s not about shame. It’s about understanding.

If you're heterosexual, these are a bunch of unearned benefits you get that folks with other sexualities do not. Read them and consider them. It’s not about shame. It’s about understanding.

If you identify with the gender you were assigned at birth, here are a bunch of unearned benefits you get that many folks do not. Read them and consider them. It’s not about shame. It’s about understanding.